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In this study, risk factors were identified to assess the impact of burnout on the health and daytime function of 412 female flight attendants from an international airline from 2017 to 2018 with convenience sampling. Data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires. Analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation analysis, and independent t-tests were used to assess the relationships between burnout and demographic and work-related factors. A structural equation model analysis was performed to assess the effect of burnout impact factors on mental health using the Brief Symptom Rating Scale, six common physical symptoms, and daytime dysfunction (a subscale of the Athens Insomnia Scale). The results showed a moderate level of burnout, as reported by 19.2 percent of the participants. Personal and work-related characteristics, including marital status and working hours, were not significantly associated with burnout. Smoking behavior was the only significant risk factor (

BACKGROUND: Fatigue in flight attendants is an important issue concerning flight safety and occupational health. It is well known that work-related factors and certain lifestyle habits can cause fatigue. But very few studies have focused on the difference between having work experience flight attendants and no flight experience trainees. OBJECTIVE: The present study was performed to compare and investigate the relationships between fatigue and health-related lifestyle habits among flight attendants and trainees. METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study with convenience sampling was conducted. A total of 107 flight attendants and 109 trainees were recruited in an international airline. The research was using a self-developed health-related lifestyle habits questionnaire and the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) scale. The relationships between health-related lifestyle habits and fatigue were examined by Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Logistic regression was used to identify factors predicting fatigue among flight attendants and trainees. RESULTS: Nearly half of the participants had fatigue and poor health-related lifestyle habits. Logistic regression showed that trainees with sleeping hours less than 7 hours, had a higher probability of fatigue than those who sleep more than 7 hours. In addition, the flight attendants with an irregular sleep pattern, unbalanced diet, sedentary leisure-time, no use relaxation technique, and an exercise frequency below once a week had a higher probability of fatigue. CONCLUSION: The flight attendants’ sleep patterns, diet, activity, and relaxation had a more significant impact on fatigue than trainees. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle is important in this population for good workplace performance.

BACKGROUND A snapping wrist is a rare symptom that results from the sudden impingement of one anatomic structure against another, subsequently causing a sudden movement only during wrist movement. CASE SUMMARY A 30-year-old woman with a history of right wrist contusion reported right wrist snapping after overuse. The snapping became symptomatic after moving heavy objects. The pain persisted even when she received 1 mo of conservative treatment. Physical examination showed painful wrist snapping during wrist radioulnar motion and thumb abduction-adduction. Radiography demonstrated bone overgrowth over the radial styloid process. Sonography disclosed a tendon jumping over a bony prominence in the first compartment during wrist motion. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed no anomalous tendon nor tumorlike lesion. Under the wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) technique, the lesion was identified in the first extensor compartment. The patient received stepwise extensor retinaculum release, synovectomy, and bone spur removal. By 6th week, the patient was completely free of pain and unable to snap her wrist. She started working 7 wk after the surgery. One year after the surgery, the wrist snap was not recurrent. CONCLUSION Careful physical examination and dynamic sonography may confirm the diagnosis of a snapping wrist. With the WALANT technique, the lesion could be identified under direct vision, and we could take stepwise interventions according to intraoperative presentations.

The health and safety of airline employees have been important issues during the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The exposure of flight attendants to passengers with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection without protective equipment is known to cause in-flight transmission and the worldwide spread of the virus. However, very few studies have focused on flight attendants’ COVID-19-preventive behaviors and related factors. This cross-sectional study was performed to investigate relationships between COVID-19-preventive behaviors and relevant factors in a convenience sample of flight attendants. In total, 261 flight attendants working for two international airlines were recruited. A self-developed questionnaire was used to assess participants’ COVID-19 information-seeking behavior, perceived susceptibility, severity, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors. Analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation analysis were performed to analyze COVID-19 preventive behaviors according to socio-demographic and COVID-19-related factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the flight attendants’ COVID-19-preventive behaviors. The factors that primarily influenced participants’ COVID-19-preventive behaviors were gender (women; β = 0.17, p < 0.001), information-seeking behavior (β = 0.39, p < 0.000), perceived severity (β = 0.130, p < 0.05), and self-efficacy (β = 0.17, p < 0.05). These factors explained 30.6% of the variance in COVID-19-preventive behaviors among flight attendants. Identification of the preventive behaviors performed by this population is important, as it aids the development of strategies to enhance such behaviors, thereby reducing the in-flight spread of COVID-19.

Foot orthoses (FOs) are commonly used as interventions for individuals with flatfoot. Advances in technologies such as three-dimensional (3D) scanning and 3D printing have facilitated the fabrication of custom FOs. However, few studies have been conducted on the mechanical properties and biomechanical effects of 3D-printed FOs. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the mechanical properties of 3D-printed FOs and determine their biomechanical effects in individuals with flexible flatfoot. During mechanical testing, a total of 18 FO samples with three orientations (0°, 45°, and 90°) were fabricated and tested. The maximum compressive load and stiffness were calculated. During a motion capture experiment, 12 individuals with flatfoot were enrolled, and the 3D-printed FOs were used as interventions. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected during walking by using an optical motion capture system. A one-way analysis of variance was performed to compare the mechanical parameters among the three build orientations. A paired t-test was conducted to compare the biomechanical variables under two conditions: walking in standard shoes (Shoe) and walking in shoes embedded with FOs (Shoe+FO). The results indicated that the 45° build orientation produced the strongest FOs. In addition, the maximum ankle evertor and external rotator moments under the Shoe+FO condition were significantly reduced by 35% and 16%, respectively, but the maximum ankle plantar flexor moments increased by 3%, compared with the Shoe condition. No significant difference in ground reaction force was observed between the two conditions. This study demonstrated that 3D-printed FOs could alter the ankle joint moments during gait.

Various treatments are available for patients with liver cancer; however, complications after treatment affect their quality of life (QOL). To improve the QOL of patients with liver cancer, this study investigated the postoperative lifestyle of sixty patients at the Liouying District Hospital, Taiwan. A self-reported structured questionnaire and a modified Chinese version of the Health Enhancement Lifestyle Profile (HELP-C) were used to collect the demographic data and to assess patients’ overall postoperative lifestyle, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the overall postoperative lifestyle and the demographic variables of age, ethnicity, education level, marital status, chronic diseases, and postoperative complications (p < 0.05). Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the HELP-C domains of diet, leisure, and activities of daily living (ADL) between the sexes. The scores for diet (9.66 ± 4.21) and leisure (4.33 ± 2.03) in women were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than those in men (13.13 ± 4.98 and 6.17 ± 2.37, respectively), indicating that women with liver cancer should be more concerned about diet and leisure after surgery. However, the score for ADL was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in women (17.90 ± 5.15) than in men (13.48 ± 2.56), indicating that men should focus on improving ADL. This research provides reference clinical data on the postoperative lifestyle of patients with liver cancer to improve their QOL.

BACKGROUND: Work ability is an important component of occupational health assessments and reflects how a persons' physical and mental health affect their ability to perform their job. However, little is known about factors relating to the work ability status of flight attendants. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical, mental, and work-related factors that affect flight attendants' work ability.METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study and simple random sampling was conducted with participants employed at a Taiwan-based airline for longer than 1 yr. Analysis of variance and Pearson correlation tests were carried out to analyze work ability according to the flight attendants' social demographics, physical and mental health, and work-related factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the flight attendants' work abilities.RESULTS: A total of 472 flight attendants were recruited and the response rate was 78.67%. The work ability of the flight attendants ranged from 'moderate' to 'excellent' (WAI score, 34.1 ± 1.8 to 45.1 ± 1.5). In a regression analysis, work ability was positively associated with gender, age, and good eating habits; in contrast, insomnia and work-related burnout were negatively associated with work ability (R² = 32.4%).DISCUSSION: Insomnia, work-related burnout, and eating habits had a significant impact on flight attendants' work abilities. Hence, it is important to address insomnia and high workloads and maintain a healthy lifestyle in the workplace.Hu C-J, Hong R-M, Yeh G-L, Hsieh I-C. Insomnia, work-related burnout, and eating habits affecting the work ability of flight attendants. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2019; 90(7):601-605.

BACKGROUND: This study explored the impact of a fatigue management health education intervention (FMI) on flight attendants fatigue management knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intention, self-efficacy, and fatigue intensity.METHODS: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used. The sample included 70 flight attendants of an international airline company in Taiwan. The experimental group (N 34) received an FMI, while the control group (N 36) had no intervention. Fatigue management knowledge, attitude, behavior intention, self-efficacy, and fatigue intensity were assessed at baseline and 1 wk later. Single-factor analysis of covariance and Jensen Neman methods were used to assess the differences in outcomes between the two groups.RESULTS: Attitude and self-efficacy in the experimental group were significantly improved after the FMI [standardized mean difference (SMD), 0.96; 1.98]. The intervention also reduced their fatigue intensity (SMD 6.05) and both knowledge and behavioral intention scores were increased in more than 80% of subjects in the experimental group.DISCUSSION: FMI can effectively improve fatigue management knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intention, and self-efficacy and reduce fatigue intensity in flight attendants.Hu CJ, Lee FP, Hong RM. Fatigue management health education intervention effects on flight attendants. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(12):911917.

This paper reports the preparation and wear behavior of mechanically alloyed Ti-based bulk metallic glass composites containing carbon particles. The carbon/Ti 50 Cu 28 Ni 15 Sn 7 metallic glass composite powders are formed by two-stage mechanical alloying (MA) process. The bulk metallic glass composite was successfully prepared by vacuum hot pressing of as-milled carbon/Ti 50 Cu 28 Ni 15 Sn 7 metallic glass composite powders. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) results show that the thermal stability of the amorphous matrix is affected by the presence of the carbon particles. Changes in T g and T x suggest deviations in the chemical composition of the amorphous matrix that were developed due to a partial dissolution of the carbon species into the amorphous phase. Although the hardness of carbon/Ti 50 Cu 28 Ni 15 Sn 7 bulk metallic glass composite is increased with carbon addition, but their wear resistances is not directly proportional to hardness and does not follow the standard wear law. The increase in the wear rate of a carbon/Ti 50 Cu 28 Ni 15 Sn 7 bulk metallic glass composite with high carbon content may be attributed to the residual porosity and in-situ formed hard TiC particles formed in situ in the matrix of the composite.

This paper presents a study of the electrical properties of nickel manganite Ni0.5Mn2.5O4−x as a function of annealing at oxygen partial pressure. The crystalline phase of manganite ceramics during annealing at oxygen partial pressure was investigated using X-ray diffraction; the predominant phase was tetragonal spinel. The electrical properties were analyzed by measuring resistance–temperature characteristics. The activation energy for electron hopping, determined using the slope of the ln ρ–1/T plots, was higher for samples annealed at lower oxygen partial pressure. The Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio, obtained through differential thermal analysis, increased with an increase in the oxygen partial pressure during annealing. The relationship between resistivity and the Mn4+/Mn3+ ratio during annealing at oxygen partial pressure was investigated.

Ceramic coatings containing ZrO2 were prepared on ADC12 aluminum alloys using microarc oxidation (MAO) in aqueous silicate solutions containing various amounts of ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3) and 0.2 μm of solid ZrO2 powder. A bipolar rectangular pulse with a frequency of 1000 Hz was galvanostatically used in this study. The morphologies and friction coefficients of the MAO coatings were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and a CSM tribometer, respectively. The results indicated that NH4VO3 electrolytes facilitate the formation of a smooth dark oxide film on Al–Si alloy because of the existence of vanadium oxide, resulting in a favorable appearance but poor tribological behavior. The introduction of ZrO2 powder preserved the favorable and uniform dark appearance of the MAO coating on the ADC12 aluminum alloy. The uniform incorporation of monoclinic/tetragonal zirconia nanoparticles into MAO coating will reduce surface roughness and enhance hardness. These were beneficial to the tribological properties.

Objective: Bisphosphonates were accepted first line treatment for osteoporosis. Long-term bisphosphonate treatment has been reported to be complicated with osteonecrosis of jaw (ONJ) and atypical fracture of femur. It is proposed to be the result of impaired remodeling of minor injury of bone. An atypical fracture occurs on a patient received only 1.5 years of bisphosphonate treatment with continuous decreasing bone mineral density. Case Presentation: This is a 53-year-old female Taiwanese. She has rheumatoid arthritis and has received long-term glucocorticoid treatment. Continuous decrease of bone mineral density in the serial BMD examination after alendronate treatment can be found. Thigh pain occurs after only 1.5 years of bisphosphonate treatment and it progresses to atypical fracture. Conclusions: Atypical fracture can occur in patients receive only short-term bisphosphonate treatment even BMD is still decreased after bisphosphonate treatment. Autoimmune disease, glucocorticoid treatment, Asian and female may be the possible risk factors.

A qualitative research approach was used to explore the life experience of cognitively intact (CI) residents cohabitating with residents with dementia in mixed placement facilities. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 21 CI residents from 6 long-term care facilities in southern Taiwan. Using a semi-structured interview guide, data were analyzed by content analysis. Two themes emerged: emotional diversity and coping. Emotional diversity described the wide range of responses, both positive and negative, expressed by the participants. Coping referred to the CI residents’ ability to adapt to behaviors exhibited by the residents with dementia and the environment. Results of this study provide nurses and other health care providers with an understanding of the life experience of CI residents who live among residents with dementia. An understanding can lead to improved quality of life and positive social interactions among CI residents and those with dementia. [ Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 39 (9), 34–41.]

Aim: This study examines the epidemiology of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population from Taiwan, the area with the highest incidence and prevalence of ESRD. Methods: A total of 98 out of 10 890 ESRD patients were referred for management of TCC between 2000 and 2008. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and patient mortality and tumour recurrence rates were analyzed. Results: TCC patients were aged 61.4 ± 10.2 years and 66.3% were female. The average time from initiation of dialysis to tumour detection was 51.2 ± 36.4 months. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, chronic glomerulonephritis and unknown aetiology accounted for 25.5%, 20.4%, 22.4% and 31.6% of the causes of renal failure, respectively. The aetiology of renal failure for the 31.6% of patients was unclear, but chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis following long-term consumption of Chinese herbs (19.4%) or analgesic compounds (3.1%) was considered in some patients. Almost all (98.0%) patients presented with gross haematuria. Most TCC were in early stage (stage 0, 3.1%; stage I, 56.1%) during diagnosis. At the end of this study, 17 of 98 (17.3%) patients died. Multivariate Cox regression analysis found that age (odds ratio = 1.140, 95% confidence interval = 1.049–1.239, P = 0.002) and tumour pain (odds ratio = 0.234, 95% confidence interval = 0.057–0.961, P = 0.044) were significant risk factors for all-cause mortality. Furthermore, 35.7% of TCC recurred during follow up. The 5 year patient and tumour-free survival rates were 72.4% and 14.4%, respectively. Conclusion: The data shows that Taiwanese patients with ESRD had high incidence (0.9%) and recurrence (35.7%) of TCC.

Amorphous Co 62− X Fe X M 8 B 30 powders with M = Ti, Zr and X = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 were synthesized by mechanical alloying and their magnetic properties were investigated in this study. It was found from this study that time to achieve amorphization during milling increases with increase in Fe content for both Co 62− X Fe X Ti 8 B 30 and Co 62− X Fe X Zr 8 B 30 alloys. It takes shorter time to achieve amorphization for the Co 62− X Fe X Zr 8 B 30 alloys than the Co 62− X Fe X Ti 8 B 30 alloys for a fixed amount of Fe. The substitution of Ti or Zr for the Nb in Co–Fe–Nb–B alloy system is not so effective to widen the supercooled liquid region. The values of coercive force measured from the Co 62− X Fe X Zr 8 B 30 alloys are lower than those from the Co 62− X Fe X Ti 8 B 30 alloys. Saturation magnetization increases as the amount of Fe substituted for Co in the Co 62− X Fe X M 8 B 30 alloys increases. The saturation magnetization increases by 1.17 emu/g for 1 at.% increase in Fe for the Co 62− X Fe X Ti 8 B 30 alloys and by 0.63 emu/g for 1 at.% increase in Fe for the Co 62− X Fe X Zr 8 B 30 alloys.

We proposed to utilize the scalable peer-to-peer network to perform the content-based image retrieval and mining, i.e, P2P-CBIRM. The decentralized unstructured P2P model with certain overheads, i.e., peer clustering and update procedures, is adopted to compromise with the structured one while still reserving flexible routing control when peers join/leave or network fails. The peer CBIRM engine is designed to utilize multi-instance query with multi-feature types to effectively reduce network traffic while maintaining high retrieval accuracy. It helps to enhance the knowledge discovery and image data mining capability. The proposed P2P-CBIRM system provides the scalable retrieval and mining function that the query scope and retrieval accuracy can be adaptively and progressively controlled. To improve the query efficiency (recall-rate/query-scope), it effectively utilizes both: 1) forwarding query message (forward phase) to reduce the query scope and 2) transmitting retrieval results (backward phase) such that activated peers keep filtering high similarity images on the link-path toward the query peer. Experiments show that the query efficiency of the scalable retrieval approach is better than previous methods, i.e., firework query model and breadth-first search. It provides a scalable knowledge discovery platform for efficient image data mining applications. We also proposed to optimally configure the P2P-CBIRM system such that, under a certain number of online users, it would yield the highest recall rate. Simulations demonstrate that, with the optimal configuration, recall rates can be improved to 2.5 to 3 times larger while the network traffic of each peer is reduced to 30% of the original, under the same number of on-line users.

Amorphous Cu-based alloys were successfully synthesized by mechanical alloying mixtures of pure crystalline Cu, Zr, Ti, B and Si powders with a SPEX high-energy ball mill. The structure and thermal stability of these alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimeter. Several amorphous alloy samples were found to exhibit a wide supercooled liquid region before crystallization. The temperature interval of the supercooled liquid region defined by the difference between Tg and Tx, i.e. Tx (=Tx − Tg), is 72 K for Cu50Zr27Ti20B3, 77 K for Cu50Zr25Ti20B5, 85 K for Cu50Zr24Ti20B5Si1, and 89 K for Cu50Zr20Ti20B5Si5. The results demonstrated that small addition of B and Si significantly improve the glass-forming ability of the Cu-based amorphous alloys. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ball milling was utilized to make composite powders from either elemental Mo, Si, C powders or compound MoSi2 and SiC powders. The milled powders were hot-pressed in a vacuum furnace to produce 10 to 30 vol.% SiC-reinforced MoSi2 composites. The influence of microstructure on the indentation fracture toughness of the fabricated SiC/MoSi2 composites was investigated. The SiC particles present in the consolidated compound composite are larger than those in the elemental composite while the pores observed in the former composite are fewer than in the latter. The overall values of fracture toughness measured on the compound composites are higher than those of elemental composites. The major reason for the greater toughness of compound composites is due to the larger SiC particles and fewer pores in these materials.

In the study, 4% cobalt and nickel elements were added to ductile iron (DI) to investigate the effects of the alloying elements on both its microstructure and its mechanical properties. The results show that 4% cobalt alloyed ductile iron (4% Co-DI) not only increases the nodule count and ferrite content in the microstructure, but also improves the mechanical properties such as yield strength, tensile strength, impact toughness and fracture toughness ( K IC ) as compared to unalloyed DI. In contrast, with 4% nickel addition, there is a decreased nodule count and increased pearlite content in the matrix. However, this material (4% Ni-DI) has the highest hardness and strength but the lowest ductility and toughness among all the ductile irons. In the case of microstructure, all kinds of iron have a sufficient nodularity up to 90% and the sequence of the nodule count is 4% Co-DI (150 nodules/mm 2 ) > DI (106 nodules/mm 2 ) > 4% Ni-DI (85 nodules/mm 2 ). Moreover, it appears that cobalt plays an important role in stabilizing the ferrite phase, whereas 4% nickel accelerates the formation of pearlite in ductile iron.

The amorphous Cu–Ni–Zr alloys were successfully synthesized by mechanical alloying mixtures of pure crystalline Cu, Ni and Zr powders with SPEX high-energy ball mill. These ranges are similar to those for amorphous alloys produced by melt-spinning techniques. The structure and thermal stability of these alloys were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimeter. Several amorphous alloy samples were found to exhibit a wide supercooled liquid region before crystallization. The temperature interval of the supercooled liquid region defined by the difference between T g and T x , i.e. Δ T x (= T g − T x ), is 34 K for Cu 10 Zr 60 Ni 30 , 48 K for Cu 20 Zr 60 Ni 20 , 78 K for Cu 40 Zr 55 Ni 5 , 81 K for Cu 50 Zr 35 Ni 15 , 61 K for Cu 50 Zr 40 Ni 10 and 64 K for Cu 50 Zr 45 Ni 5 .

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of a modified rolled homogeneous armor (MRHA) steel during ballistic impact tests. AerMet 100, AISI 1045 and 4130 steels were also tested for comparison with the MRHA results. The “white"‐etched portion of adiabatic shear bands was found on the front surface around penetration cavities in all the impacted armor plates. Scanning electron microscopic observation indicates that the adiabatic shear bands found in 4130, MRHA and AerMet 100 belong to transformed bands while those of 1045 steel are deformed bands. Ballistic test results show that the ballistic limit velocities of the 2.5‐mm thick MRHA steels are higher than those of AISI 1045 and 4130, and possibly compatible with AerMet 100 steel. For 2.5‐mm thick armor plates, the penetration modes were found to be dominated by ductile hole growth and plugging modes.

Cu60Zr30Ti10 metallic glass powder was prepared by mechanically alloying a mixture of pure Cu, Zr, and Ti powders after 5 h of milling. Cu60Zr30Ti10 bulk metallic glass (BMG) was synthesized by vacuum hot pressing the as-milled Cu60Zr30Ti10 metallic glass powder at 746 K in the pressure range of 0.72–1.20 GPa, and the structure was analyzed through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The pressure could enhance the thermal stability, and prolong the existence, of the amorphous phase inside the Cu60Zr30Ti10 powder. Furthermore, the corrosion behavior of the Cu-based BMG in four corrosive media was studied using a potentiodynamic method. The Cu60Zr30Ti10 BMG exhibited a low corrosion rate and current density in 1 N solutions of H2SO4, NaOH, and HNO3. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results revealed that the formation of Zr- and Ti-rich passive oxide layers provides a high corrosion resistance against 1 N H2SO4 and HNO3 solutions, and the breakdown of the protective film by Cl− attack was responsible for pitting corrosion in a 3 wt % NaCl solution. The formation of oxide films and the nucleation and growth of pitting were analyzed through microstructural investigations.

This research studied the fracture toughness of the Fe-7Al-27Mn alloys with increasing carbon contents: 0.5% C, Fl alloy: 0.7% C, F2 alloy (with 4.0% Cr); and 1.0% C, F3 alloy. Fracture toughness experiments were conducted at temperatures of 25, − 50, − 100 and − 150 °C. It was found that plane-stress,K C, values as measured by the R-curve method, decreased as the temperature dropped. F1 alloy possessed the highestK C value at all temperatures among the three alloys. TheK C values of the F2 and F3 alloys were similar at ambient temperatures, but F3 maintained the toughness property and ductility better at sub-zero temperatures. Quantitatively,K IC values of the F2 alloy at − 150 °C were ca, 60% less than at 25 °C, but F1 and F3 alloys dropped by only ca. 30%. Using a compact-tension specimen, 20.0 mm thick, at −150°C only alloy F2 satisfied the requirement of plane-strain fracture toughness with aK C value of 106 MPa m1/2. The existence of Cr (4.0%) and the formation of a ferrite phase in an austenite matrix was responsible for the low toughness value observed.

Aggregation of carbon nanotubes reduces quantum efficiency and the phenomenon is found to be related to photocurrent leakage through oxygenated lattices acting as low barrier intertube channels. This outcome is supported by calculation and optical excitation experiments.

The importance of effective communication with dementia sufferers has grown with the increasing prevalence of this degenerative condition. Regardless of the presence of aphasia, the vocal tones and behaviors of dementia patients are meaningful, and may signal unmet needs. If caregivers ignore or fail to respond to these messages, more irritable or aggressive behaviors may result. Therefore, it is critical for caregivers to learn and apply appropriate communication strategies and skills with dementia patients. Based on a review of the literature, this paper provides guidelines for assessing dementia patients' residual communication ability and suggests strategies and skills for communicating with dementia patients. Evidence based guidelines are important for caregivers when communicating with dementia patients in order to achieve positive outcomes and high care quality.

This study examines the epidemiology of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population from Taiwan, the area with the highest incidence and prevalence of ESRD.A total of 98 out of 10,890 ESRD patients were referred for management of TCC between 2000 and 2008. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected and patient mortality and tumour recurrence rates were analyzed.TCC patients were aged 61.4 ± 10.2 years and 66.3% were female. The average time from initiation of dialysis to tumour detection was 51.2 ± 36.4 months. Hypertensive nephrosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, chronic glomerulonephritis and unknown aetiology accounted for 25.5%, 20.4%, 22.4% and 31.6% of the causes of renal failure, respectively. The aetiology of renal failure for the 31.6% of patients was unclear, but chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis following long-term consumption of Chinese herbs (19.4%) or analgesic compounds (3.1%) was considered in some patients. Almost all (98.0%) patients presented with gross haematuria. Most TCC were in early stage (stage 0, 3.1%; stage I, 56.1%) during diagnosis. At the end of this study, 17 of 98 (17.3%) patients died. Multivariate Cox regression analysis found that age (odds ratio =1.140, 95% confidence interval = 1.049-1.239, P = 0.002) and tumour pain (odds ratio = 0.234, 95% confidence interval = 0.057-0.961, P = 0.044) were significant risk factors for all-cause mortality. Furthermore, 35.7% of TCC recurred during follow up. The 5 year patient and tumour-free survival rates were 72.4% and 14.4%, respectively.The data shows that Taiwanese patients with ESRD had high incidence (0.9%) and recurrence (35.7%) of TCC.

A peer-to-peer content-based image retrieval system (P2P CBIR) is proposed in this paper. To co-operate with the highly regular P2P network and peer operations, the retrieval unit in one peer is designed to perform multi-instance image query with heterogeneous features and transmit relevant images to its source peer. The peer internal architecture is designed to perform the P2P image retrieval in a regular and scalable approach. The query peer can present the best retrieval results at any time, which is a compromise between the Time-To-Live (TTL) of the query message and the recall rate. Experiments show that the query efficiency (recall-rate/query-scope) of the scalable retrieval approach is better than previous methods, i.e., firework query model and bread first search. Furthermore, an optimal system configuration method is proposed to provide the highest recall rate for a certain number of on-line users. Simulations demonstrate that recall rates can be improved to 1.5 to 2.5 times larger while the retrieval processing time is reduced to 50% of the original, under the same number of on-line users.

We proposed an image retrieval algorithm that deals with multi-instance query with heterogeneous features. For the pre-processing, we utilized the gray-level morphological operations by reconstruction to effectively identify the foreground objects in images. This method can be processed by the pipeline architecture which is suitable for dealing with volume images. The retrieval process is carried out in intra and inter feature domains: (1) the intra retrieval utilizes the profession of multi-instance query with one feature and; (2) the inter retrieval coordinates the individual intra retrieval results to boost salient common features among query samples. To represent feature saliency, the averaged normalized correlation coefficient is computed in the intra domain and is normalized in the inter domain. The most distinguished point of this algorithm is that it coordinates heterogeneous features for multi-instance retrieval. Up to five different image types could be integrated for retrieval. Simulations demonstrate satisfactory subjective and objective retrieval performances.

This study examined the behavior of amorphous Mg-Cu-Ti based alloys synthesized by mechanical alloying technique. The microstructural evolution during mechanical alloying of the mixed powders was investigated by both X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The phase stabilities of the as-milled powders were analyzed by the differential scanning calorimetry. Differential thermal analysis on the 12-h milled ternary Mg-Cu-Ti powders reveals endothermic peaks in the Mg40Cu40Ti20 and Mg40Cu35Ti25 at around 550 K and no such a peak is observed in the another ternary compositions. For the ternary and quaternary Mg-Cu-Ti based alloys, several amorphous powders were found to exhibit a wide supercooled liquid region before crystallization. The temperature interval of the supercooled liquid region defined by the difference between Tg and Tx, i.e. Tx-Tg, is 54K for Mg40Cu40Ti20, 53K for Mg40Cu35Ti25, 51K for Mg40Cu35Ti23B2, 62 K for Mg40Cu35Ti21Sn4, and 74 K for Mg40Cu35Ti21Ni5. As the results demonstrated, the small addition of Sn and Ni significantly improved the glass forming ability of the Mg-Cu-Ti based amorphous alloys.

Blended elemental Cr-B and Mo-B powders in atomic ratio of 67:33, 50:50, and 20:80 were subjected to mechanical alloying up to 60 h and subsequent heat treatment to investigate effect of composition and heat treatment on the phase formation of Cr-B and Mo-B powders. It was studied by X-ray diffraction and differential thermal analysis. Mechanical alloying these powder mixtures for 60 h leads essentially to a amorphous structure except for the Mo20B80 powder, which creates a partially amorphous MoB4 structure. Annealing at lower temperatures relieves the strains cumulative in the milled powders and creates no new phase. The structures obtained after annealing the milled powders at higher temperature vary and depend on the overall composition of the powder mixtures. Annealing the milled Mo-B powders having greater Mo content ends up with a dissociation reaction at higher temperature.